1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to the field of computers, and more particularly to analyzing data results that are collected during a contact study.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an effort to improve delivery of services while maximizing profits, many enterprises outsource some of their operations, in order to benefit from the expertise and economy of scale offered by third party service providers (outsourcers). Two examples of such outsourcing are Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Business Transformation Outsourcing (BTO).
Under Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), an outsourcer assumes responsibility for performing one or more business processes that were previously done by the client or another outsourcer. The business processes are typically changed only slightly, if at all, but lower labor rates generally enable an overall reduction in the cost of performing the business processes, and information technology may or may not play a significant role in reducing the cost of the outsourced business processes.
In contrast, under Business Transformation Outsourcing (BTO), business processes are also assumed by an outsourcer, but the business processes themselves may be substantially changed, often through information technology and business process redesign. It is these changes in the business process and information technology that generate the need for contact studies since industry benchmarks may no longer be applicable.
As further discussion regarding the difference between a BPO and a BTO, note that a BPO can simply assume that the client's existing measures of contact handle time and customer satisfaction are sufficient if reducing handle time and improving customer satisfaction are not justifications for BPO. Conversely, BTO typically must quantify baseline activity times and project future activity times subsequent to business process and information technology transformations. Determining which activities can be reduced, eliminated, or handled via automation is critical. Likewise, BTO typically must not only quantify baseline customer satisfaction and its drivers, but also project how changes to those drivers will affect future customer satisfaction.
Since some drivers generally will be under the client's control (example: payment policies and late fees), some under the outsourcer's control (example: agent selection and training), and the remainder jointly controlled (example: customer information and billing systems), understanding the relationship between drivers and resulting satisfaction is critical to reaching an appropriate service level agreement. Neither handle time nor satisfaction changes for a particular client can be predicted accurately from industry benchmarks unless that client and that outsourcer are typical of clients and outsourcers included in those benchmarks, which is rarely if ever the case.
One type of BTO operation is a call center, in which employees of the BTO handle contacts. Contacts come in many types, including telephone calls, electronic mail, instant messages, text messages, facsimile (fax), paper mail, video conferences, web conferences, and electronic forms. Likewise, contacts come from various sources, including customers, employees, retirees, subcontractors, suppliers, regulators, investors, business partners, news media, and the general public
During BTO operations, such as those performed at a call center, a survey can be performed, which categorizes and quantifies various aspects of calls made to and from the call center. However, this process requires an expert in enterprise efficiency, statistics and sampling methodology, which is expensive and lengthy. What is needed is an efficient, and preferably automated, method and system for evaluating BTO operations, including the analysis of contact studies.